Three jailed for smuggling 2,800 butterflies

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Jinan court in east China’s Shandong Province has jailed three people for smuggling 2,800 specimens of butterfly, including more than 1,000 rare and protected species, into China.

The trio, identified only by their surnames as Wei, Xu and Zhu, were given jail terms of five, seven and 10 years, and levied fines of 20,000 yuan (3,000 US dollars), 40,000 yuan and 50,000 yuan respectively.

Since October 2015, the convicts had ordered butterfly specimens through Facebook from countries such as Malaysia and the Philippines, and then processed and sold them to Chinese buyers for high profit. One species, called Papilio chikae, or Luzon peacock swallowtail, can sell for more than 10,000 yuan (1,500 US dollars).

The Paper photo

In January last year, Wei posted photos of butterflies he bought on social media, which was reported by netizens to the authorities. Soon customs officials intercepted a parcel from Malaysia labelled "dresses" but found a box of dead butterflies.

The case involved more than 1.5 million yuan (226,000 US dollars), and is believed to be the "biggest butterfly specimen smuggling case" uncovered in the country.

Among the 2,800 samples seized, 1,264 species are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and Chinese law.